Last minute concessions ease passage of identity cards bill

Labour rebels last night slashed the government's majority to 25 on the identity cards bill's last reading in the Commons, despite a series of last-minute concessions. Twenty-five backbenchers lined up with the Tories and Liberal Democrats to vote against the plan, passed by 309 votes to 284. The unexpectedly slim margin will embolden critics when the legislation reaches the House of Lords.

Opponents complained that the government had timetabled the third reading to coincide with the results of the first ballot in the Conservative leadership election. But while the result was conveniently overshadowed by Kenneth Clarke's defeat, it was still a surprise and an embarrassment for ministers. So was the opposition of three senior Labour figures: Gwyneth Dunwoody, Ian Gibson and David Winnick - none is a serial rebel.

Earlier, an amendment allowing people to apply for a passport without having to submit personal details to the national identity database was defeated by only 32 votes. Neil Gerrard, the Labour backbencher who tabled it, warned that, although the scheme would be voluntary initially, it would amount to "creeping compulsion". A second amendment, defeated by 33 votes, sought to axe all charges for the scheme.

Another rebel, Bob Marshall-Andrews, labelled the bill as "the most illiberal piece of legislation we have been asked to pass in this house for half a century".

An earlier attempt by the Liberal Democrats to refer the legislation back to a select committee for further scrutiny was easily defeated. Yesterday the home secretary promised that details contained on the card would not go beyond those currently held on passports, unless fresh primary legislation was to be passed. New powers will also be introduced to punish those who tamper with cards during their manufacture.

Charles Clarke told the house that the bill would tackle identity fraud, help prevent terrorism, make it easier to keep track of illegal working and immigration abuse, and make public service provision more efficient and more effective. He said that the Conservatives had repeatedly changed their views on the issue, adding archly: "It is a clear case of identity crisis."

But Edward Garnier, the Tory MP for Harborough, said the house should be ashamed of a bill which "is economically illiterate, politically incoherent, and will prove to be socially divisive". He suggested that the government wanted a society in which the population wore bar codes across their foreheads. He added: "This is not some statutory instrument or anodyne piece of business ... it utterly alters the status of the state in its relationship with individuals." Patrick Mercer, Conservative spokesman for homeland security, said that the government tried to present the card as all things to all men. He added: "[Our] amendments expose both the card and the register for what they are: unworkable."

David Heath, for the Liberal Democrats, criticised the costs of the scheme, argued that it would not work, and warned of the potential for "function creep", questioning how the national register might be used by both the public and private sector.